Hi Bob & All,

> When I found varroa was
> still around on 4.9mm cell size I was not as interested.
>

One will never eliminate varroa from a colony, the trick is to find a way to help the bee deal with varroa without damaging the bees
or their environment. The Primorsky Russian bees did this naturally long ago by natural selection, eliminating the weak genetics by
attrition of colonies that were highly susceptible to varroa. The colonies that had a natural high resistance to varroa were the
only colonies left to breed with. Dealing with varroa will cost one way or the other, dealing with it in a natural way will last
longer and will harm the bees less.

> Secret for Keith:
>
> Knowing what is going on in your bee hives is the real secret. Guessing what
> is going on will get you in trouble every time.
>

There is a lot of guessing going on out there, even by researchers, mainly because of unknown factors. A beekeeper learns about what
is going on inside a hive each time the top is popped. Thinking you know what is going on inside a hive can get you in trouble too.
The only real secret is that the honey bee and it's environment is, for the most part, still mysterious.

Keith still wondering where the commercial secret is to boasting colony individual bee population numbers are. The only ones I have
received so far take from strong colonies to give to weak genetics making the strong weaker, combining colonies that reduce colony
numbers, feed both
pollen & honey which is what were all trying to produce from a colony and might spread disease, and using two queens in one hive.
Also none of these increases individual bee population numbers except for maybe the two queen idea but even that you must factor in
individual bee population numbers per queen. Yes there will be more bees per queen in a two queen colony. Now I am not sure what the
etc. means but I would guess it is the real secret.

The best way I have learned for increasing colony individual bee numbers is for a beekeeper to provide superior genetics, have a
clean natural environment inside the hive, and let bees use as much pollen and nectar as the bees can bring in.

 . ..   Keith Malone, Chugiak, Alaska USA, http://www.cer.org/,
c(((([ , Apiarian, http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney/,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/ ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ApiarianBreedersGuild/

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::